CHP wants you on call, just briefly

It’s not often that the California Highway Patrol encourages motorists to pick up their cellphones and talk. But as the holiday season swings into overdrive, that’s just what the police agency wants them to do.

Not to call friends or family members, but to call 911 if they suspect another driver has been drinking.

“I want to get the drunk driver off the road,” said CHP Commissioner Michael L. Brown, deputizing all California drivers to help his officers make the roads safer.

As part of a statewide campaign to reduce alcohol-related deaths, the CHP and the state Department of Transportation are urging motorists -- via overhead freeway signs -- to call 911 to report drivers they suspect have been drinking.

Operators in Los Angeles County alone receive 600 calls a week reporting drunk drivers, CHP Officer Joe Zizi said.

Although state lawmakers recently outlawed the use of hand-held cellphones while driving, Brown said reporting a possible drunk driver falls under the law’s emergency exception.

When an officer responding to a 911 call takes a drunk driver off the road, “we have saved a life,” Brown said.

That same perceived danger also persuaded the California Supreme Court to allow officers to stop suspected drunk drivers based solely on anonymous tips.

Last year, the Highway Patrol received about 7 million emergency calls, most of them traffic-related. In Los Angeles, about 3% of the calls involve drunk drivers.

But that’s not the statistic that worries state officials. It’s this one: About a quarter of all deaths on California freeways last year were alcohol-related.

Statewide, 1,010 people were killed in crashes that involved at least one person driving under the influence, according to Highway Patrol statistics. That’s up from 924 in 2004.

Arrests also were up in the agency’s Southern California division. Last year, 17,660 people were taken into custody in Los Angeles County on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The problem is so widespread that a divided state Supreme Court in June gave officers the go-ahead to stop motorists based solely on anonymous tips. They do not have to witness the dangerous conduct to pull a driver over.

The court’s four-member majority cited “public safety and common sense” in applying a lesser “reasonable suspicion” standard to police stops involving DUIs. Anonymous tips for other suspected infractions are generally not enough for police intervention.

The three dissenting justices said police should have to witness erratic behavior, as they would in most other criminal situations, before taking action.

Motorists calling 911 to report a suspected drunk driver should be prepared to provide a vehicle description -- license plate number, color, make and model -- and also the road and direction the vehicle is traveling.

If they can’t get the license plate number, Zizi recommended looking for such distinguishing traits as “a bumper sticker or a stuffed animal hanging out the back.”

To an untrained eye, a sleepy or distracted driver may appear to be drunk, Zizi said. Some tips for assessing suspected drunk drivers: Are they driving too fast? Do they speed up, then slow down? Are they weaving? Are they traveling at night without headlights?

Although the call can be anonymous, Ellen Saramiento, a Los Angeles city prosecutor, urged callers to give their names so they can serve as potential witnesses if the case goes to trial.

Without a civilian witness, she said, it’s typically the officer’s word against the driver’s. The testimony of a neutral witness, she said, might help take a drunk driver off the road.

“For a citizen to call,” Saramiento said, “the driving is usually bad.”

jean.guccione@latimes.com